


Don't Tell Mom, the Babysitter's Scared to Death

by neevebrody



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-12
Updated: 2010-02-12
Packaged: 2017-10-07 05:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neevebrody/pseuds/neevebrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This is your fault, you know."  He licked his fingers and mimicked John's voice.  "Oh no problem, Jeannie… we've got all weekend with nothing to do… we're happy to keep her…"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Tell Mom, the Babysitter's Scared to Death

Thursday afternoon:

"She's eight years old, Rodney."

"Yes, you keep saying that," Rodney replied, poking through the grocery bags on the counter. "Is that your way of reassuring me, or are you trying to scare the shit out of me?"

John grinned as he emptied the contents from one of the bags. "Relax. She'll probably spend all her time in her room texting her friends or having video chats, or however it is kids communicate these days."

"Hmm. Hey, did you get the—"

John handed him the double-chocolate mocha and chocolate chunk ice cream with a raised brow.

"One quart? Are you kidding?"

"Make it last," John said in that tone, the one he used whenever he referred to something for Rodney's own good. Annoying as it was, it was like a warm hand over Rodney's heart. John folded the canvas shopping bags, put them in the pantry, then added, "You can't back out now—Jeannie and Kaleb are dropping her off tomorrow. Face it Rodney, we're babysitting for the weekend."

Rodney pulled the lid off the ice cream and dug a finger into the softened sweetness. "This is your fault, you know." He licked his fingers and mimicked John's voice. "Oh no problem, Jeannie…we've got all weekend with nothing to do…we're happy to keep her…"

John eyed him, replaced the lid on the ice cream carton and put it away in the freezer. "Well, we don't…and we are."

"You know how I feel about kids," Rodney sighed. "And small dogs."

"Yeah, you old curmudgeon," John replied, sidling up to Rodney. "They love you, especially Maddie and you can't tell me that doesn't pump some part of that huge ego of yours." A shudder rippled across his skin as John's hand slipped beneath Rodney's shirt at the small of his back. "Besides, you love Maddie."

"Yes," Rodney said, jabbing his finger into John's chest, then letting it slide down to hook inside the waist of his jeans. "And I love her best when she's at home… in her own house and I can walk away at the end of the evening."

John leaned in closer filling the space between them with that wonderful musky scent. "Bullshit," he said, then licked the little smudge of chocolate from the corner of Rodney's mouth before kissing him. "It's going to be fine. This is family, Rodney, the same little girl that married us when she was five." John's breath hissed as Rodney leaned in to nuzzle. "We'll make pizza. Hey," he said pulling back, arching his brow again. "Maybe we can have another ceremony…renew our _vows_…remember that night?"

Rodney pulled further away, eyes wide, his face kind of pale, but he let John kiss him again, soft smile against Rodney's lips easing the tightness in his muscles. "Pizza?"

"Mm hmm." John nodded. "I got fresh mozzarella and bought tomatoes and peppers from that little stand you like."

"What no pepperoni? Italian sausage? Kids love pepperoni."

"Madison doesn't eat that." John frowned. "Not to mention, Jeannie would kill us." He patted Rodney's stomach and let his hand slip down between Rodney's legs. "Now, do you wanna keep working yourself into a panic, or do you wanna go upstairs? If I know you, sex is gonna be out of the question until Maddie leaves. Think you can get me all fucked out by tomorrow?"

He pulled John close again. It was amazing how those dorky waggling eyebrows mixed with that voice, dusky and inviting, could still get him hard in seconds. Pushing John's hand tighter against his crotch, Rodney breathed his own hot invitation across John's lips.

 

Friday night:

"Rodney, will you settle?" John's warm feet surrounded Rodney's. "What's wrong, can't you sleep? I'd have thought you'd be exhausted."

Rodney reached for the hand on his chest and sighed. "She likes you best."

"What? Who?"

An eye roll or a withering smirk, Rodney decided, would be counterproductive at this point, so he simply replied, "Madison."

He could feel John shift beside him. "That's ridiculous, I just—"

"Made her favorite pizza," Rodney interrupted, "made sure she had her very own bowl of popcorn, laughed at that silly movie she wanted to watch…" Already feeling the weight of John's glare, he fell quiet.

"Don't you think that was better than trying to argue science with an eight year old?"

Rodney ignored him. "I was the one who had to tell her to put her dishes in the kitchen. I was the one who had to make her take a bath and tell her when to go to bed."

Rodney fought John's hand at his chin, but finally turned to him. "Unfortunately," John said, his eyes serious and understanding. "Someone always has to be the disciplinarian…happens even with parents…doesn't mean Maddie favors me over you."

"Well, she didn't lean on me and giggle during the movie. She didn't ask me to read to her to help her go to sleep."

John smiled. "I thought you didn't like that kind of stuff anyway."

"That's not the point," Rodney sniffed. Letting John pull him closer, he willingly met the curves of John's body, welcoming the possessive snug of John's leg across his hip, the sleepy, familiar scent of _them_ on the sheets and the slow, even warmth of John's breath, chest rising and falling until it was the last thing Rodney knew.

 

Saturday evening:

His heart pounded a steady rhythm in Rodney's ears and forced fiery panic through every vein. "Hurry, John." The words, like a mantra, whispered over and over again from the back seat of the Jeep as they sped into the city. All the _calm downs_ and the _she's going to be all rights_ John offered barely registered. The only thing Rodney could comprehend at the moment was the small hand clutching the edge of his jacket and the quite, choked whimpers from the little girl in his arms.

"She's gonna be fine, Rodney," John said over his shoulder. "Just keep that cloth pressed to her lip. Almost there."

Rodney took a deep breath and echoed John's words quietly into Madison's ear, braving a smile in case she looked up at him. That's when he noticed his shirt. Stained an eerie blue-black in the semi-darkness, Rodney tried to convince himself that it really did look worse than it was while holding his niece tighter.

He and John hadn't seen it happen, just heard the sound of the ice cream bowl hitting the floor and then another sickening thump followed by Maddie's frightened cries. By the time he'd made it past the kitchen island into the hallway, her lower lip and shirt front were covered in blood and he'd looked at the steps actually expecting to see several teeth. John had been there in seconds with a wet cloth ordering Rodney to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Then he was out the door to bring the Jeep around.

As they entered the emergency entrance, John motioned for Rodney to take Maddie and sit down. "I'll handle it," he said, and Rodney felt so relieved, he could have kissed John right there. He found a seat away from so many people and held Maddie in his lap.

"Here, let's have a look, short stuff," he said, trying for a smile again and hoping she couldn't see how panicked he was. He carefully pulled the cloth away and watched a bit of blood seep through a small, ragged gash just beneath Madison's puffy lip. "Hey, I think we've done it." A different kind of feeling gripped him as a small tear relinquished its last hold in the corner of Maddie's eye. Warm and heavy, it made his own breath catch as he looked up to find John. John glanced his way and Rodney nodded, giving him a faint smile.

"Tastes bad," Maddie said softly, then tried her best to spit into the cloth.

"I'm not surprised," her uncle said, smoothing the hair back from her face. "We're going to get you all fixed up…don't you worry."

Madison looked up at him, those big brown eyes shiny but dry and her chin wobbled a little. "Are you mad at me, Uncle Mer?" Her voice was so tiny and unsure.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

She wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I made a mess." She pointed to his shirt. "And I broke your bowl."

Rodney's vision began to blur, his chest to tighten. He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat, but before he could say anything, John was there.

"They're gonna take us as soon as they can," he said, squatting down in front of them, one hand on Rodney's knee while the other stroked Maddie's cheek. Rodney mouthed a silent _thank you_ when John looked up.

~~~~

"What do you mean no stitches? Is that—is that all you're going--maybe you could go find us a doctor who's actually completed medical--"

John quickly grabbed Rodney's wrist and stepped between him and the examining table. "There's nothing else you can do?" he asked calmly.

The emergency physician looked pointedly at Rodney. "Doctor McKay, stitches aren't indicated here. Most likely, Madison's wound has already started to heal itself, as usually happens with injuries to the mouth." Rodney looked at Madison sitting on the table, swinging her legs and touching her lip gingerly with her finger. The bleeding had stopped and the skin was closed. "See," the doctor said, pointing to the S-shaped tear. "I could put in a stitch or two, but that's going to be more irritating to Madison, not to mention the scarring would be more noticeable."

"Scar? She's going to have a scar?"

The doctor, who looked for all the world to be about seventeen, smiled. "Yes. Faint, white, basically this same shape, but it will fade as she ages."

Rodney just stared then turned to John. "She's going to have a scar…"

"Cool," Maddie said. They all looked around to her as she tried to work that huge swollen lip into a smile. John cleared his throat.

"Are you sure you and my sister didn't know each other before," Rodney deadpanned, "say about nine years ago?"

John smirked as the doctor helped Madison down from the table. She explained that the best thing for that lip was an ice pop and that she and Madison would be right back.

"Jeannie's going to kill me," Rodney said as John wound his arms around Rodney's waist. "My name will be on file with Child Services. I'll never see Maddie again. Should I call her? Maybe by tomorrow the swelling will be gone…Jeannie might not even notice…of course, we'd have to get Maddie to keep quiet…"

John pulled Rodney to him, their foreheads touching. "You worry too much. Maddie's fine. This could have happened anywhere and nobody's calling Child Services." Rodney held fast to John's elbows and nodded. "Not saying Jeannie isn't going to have her say about this," John continued, "but I don't think it'll be as bad as you think." He raised his head and kissed Rodney. "Now, let's get out of here."

They'd stopped off at the pharmacy on the way home to get some child's pain reliever like the doctor suggested and found some more ice pops. Rodney hadn't been able to get more than a few steps away from Madison and when he finally suggested it was time for bed, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs, asking him to read to her.

~~~~

There was a sharp pain in his neck, followed by gentle shaking. Or maybe the shaking had been first… Rodney opened his eyes to see John hovering over him, then looked around at Madison asleep beside him.

"You coming to bed?" John whispered and waved his hand at the way Rodney was sprawled on the bed.

Rodney straightened himself, trying to be careful not to wake Madison. "I think I'll stay here," he said. "I don't want her to wake up and be frightened or need something." He watched John turn around and walk to the closet. He brought back an extra pillow and a blanket. Rodney took the pillow and stuffed it behind him as John sat down on the end of the bed and removed Rodney's shoes. "Thank you," Rodney said again. "Sorry I was such a basket case. I just—"

"No apologies necessary," John said getting up. He spread the blanket and covered the two on the bed. "You would have done just fine without me," he said, wrapping it around Rodney's feet.

Rodney reached for John's wrist and John bent to kiss him. A kiss Rodney returned, hoping it might say all the things that seemed crowded at the back of his throat, not quite able to find their way out. Like how Rodney didn't want to find out the way anything would be without John.

Hand warm on Rodney's cheek as he pulled away, John slid his thumb across Rodney's lips. "Goodnight, Rodney."

He just nodded and watched as John slipped quietly from the room.

 

Sunday afternoon:

The sound of car doors was loud and clear as Rodney paced the entry hall. Even the emergency room visit hadn't been this bad, he thought, willing his stomach and everything in it to stay in one place. Madison ran past him to the front door. "Hey short stuff," he called, "remember what we talked about? Let your Uncle Mer do the talking, huh?"

John came up behind him as Madison flung the door wide and ran to hug her mother. Rodney took a deep breath and John patted his shoulder. "I'm right here," he whispered close to Rodney's ear and Rodney couldn't tell if the shiver that traced his body was from John's voice or his ardent fear that Jeannie was going to kill him.

But it was Madison's voice that stopped Rodney cold as he started to take a step forward. "Look Mom, I fell and my tooth went all the way through my lip. See? We went to the hospital and I got popsicles and Uncle Mer took care of me. And guess what…I'm going to have a scar!"

Rodney could have stepped on his stomach. Jeannie was impossible to read as their eyes met. The hallway and everything in it seemed to fall away leaving just the two of them. He swallowed, but the words weren't there.

"What happened?" Jeannie asked the trio at large, bending down to get a good look at Madison. Kaleb had made his way onto the porch and stood behind Jeannie.

"I took Uncle Mer's ice cream and I was running so he wouldn't catch me," Maddie said, a little subdued now.

John pointed to the steps. "She just had socks on, she must have slipped and—"

"I fell, and there was so much blood. But Uncle John drove real fast and, oh, I messed up Uncle Mer's shirt…but he's not mad at me," she said, turning around. Her eyes widened when they found Rodney's. Rodney smiled and shook his head, that warm feeling tugging at his chest again.

~~~~

There were enough ingredients for more pizzas and they'd been able to convince Jeannie and Kaleb to stay for an early dinner where all was explained. To Rodney's relief, Kaleb told them of something similar that had happened when he was a toddler staying with his grandparents. Maddie wanted to see her dad's scar and was terribly disappointed that it was hardly visible.

When it was time to say good-bye, Madison took Rodney's hand and made a pretty good case for why she should stay…indefinitely maybe. It took a good twenty minutes to convince her otherwise. But she did score one of her bargaining chips. Uncle John and Uncle Mer would baby-sit anytime they could and there was talk bandied about of Madison spending some of her summer vacation with her Uncles.

Strong arms circled Rodney from behind as he and John stood on the porch, waving at the retreating car until it was out of sight. Rodney melted into the touch, filling those arms with his relief.

"You handled that quite well," John said, chin digging into Rodney's shoulder.

The breeze that blew past showered Rodney with chills. In it, the smell of hot, dusty asphalt and that metallic trace in the air that meant rain was on its way. "I did, didn't I?" He turned his head, kissed John's temple, and then let out a long sigh. "God, I need a drink."

"C'mon," John drawled, giving Rodney a quick squeeze. "I'll buy you a beer."

Rodney held him still. "One condition…afterward, you take me upstairs and have your way with me?"

John's breath was warm at Rodney's ear and drew another shudder across his body. "You've got yourself a date," he answered, pulling Rodney's mouth to his.


End file.
